Admit it, you’ve probably at least thought once or twice about taking your yoga students on a retreat.

Where would you go?

Costa Rica? Puerto Rico? California? Italy?

Maybe somewhere closer for you like a state park or nature sanctuary.

This week we chat with travel expert Heather Horrell about what it takes to organize wellness travel, what trends she is seeing, and so much more.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

*Wellness travel is booming right now, and looks to be for the foreseeable future. If travel is a part of your business plan or career dreams, consider really diving into what that dream might look like in reality.

*The guilt about selling this ideal of the epitome of wellness while also not being a part of it anymore is something I think is a huge issue within our industry. “You are selling something you no longer are” is something that Heather said that really resonated with me.

To me this is akin to hearing spiritual leaders describe a crisis of faith. And it is totally normal. See out guidance or take a break if you can and need to.

*Studios are great places to foster wellness travel and community. I know so many studios that have retreats, within their country and internationally, as a part of their offerings.

*Being more local is going to be a trend this season, and I suspect for the next couple of years. If you are conscious of folks’ pocketbooks and the accessibility of travel for most people, I understand that–Heather and I both agree that this is a big discussion. But seeing if you can host events that are more easily accessible by car or train is a good option, and also having discounted rates, sponsored spots, and other opportunities for discounted rates (like volunteer spots) are great ways to make your adventures more accessible to lots of people.

*Creating experiences is another theme throughout this series. In the last of this series I talk with the lead for the travel team from the Himalayan Institute, which has had a long history of travel tourism as an organization. If this topic interests you, take notes from our guests this season, Heather, Amy and Ransom about how you can create experiences for your own community.

*Finally, start small! You don’t need to book that trip to Costa Rica right away, you can take a trip to a Botanical Garden near you, that cute little tourist town an hour away, or rent some cabins in the woods for the night. There are so many ways you can create community and connection while traveling, and you don’t need to go far.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Heather’s Facebook Group

Heather’s Website

SPONSOR

Sunlight Streams Blog

Sunlight Apothecary

8 Guests. Tons of words of wisdom. A mini-lesson on white supremacy.

That’s what I call a series.

This episode takes clips from each episode and guides you through the small changes, experiences, and big-picture ideas that made this series so special.

A huge thanks to all of my guests: Dr. Shyam Ranganathan, Ann Swanson, Colin Hall, Daniel Simpson, Steff Gallante, Pooja Virani, Tristan Katz, and Colice Sanders.

Y’all are the coolest people I know.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

SPONSOR

Sunlight Streams Blog

Sunlight Apothecary

EXTRAS

White Supremacy Culture website

I had a question that was bothering me.

From episode one of this series (w/ Dr. Shyam Ranganathan) I have been asking and chatting about how we are holding our own activist and change-maker selves to perfectionist standards.

So decided to end this series with an expert here to answer that question.

Enter Colice Sanders to the chat. The covers so much about the history of white supremacy, why it matters, and brings up new things for us all to think about.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

*Langauge matters. I am a huge fan of defining terms, and Colice is too. Making sure you are precise in your definitions and terms can help communicate, clarify, and overall understanding. Colice defines a lot of terms for us in this podcast, so take note and use those terms wisely.

*White supremacy and white culture is something we rarely talk about. It manifests in our culture in things like individualism vs. collectivism, perfectionism, hoarding of power, and other ways. Colice goes over the whole list, and take a listen back and take notes.

*Awareness. We are aware. This is one of my favorite points she brings up. Often we justify being unkind to people, especially online, for the sake of awareness. Consider that awareness isn’t the issue, but our lack of focused and impactful action especially in our communities that is where we are truly missing the mark.

*Using perfectionism to police each other in yoga and social justice space is just the worst. If you have ever felt guilty or shamed for how you show up remember two things. 1. They aren’t the cops. And even if they are we don’t talk to cops. 2. Perhaps someone said something that you do need to think about, so don’t dismiss all critique out of hand, but take a few moments to separate what you need to learn from what made you feel bad.

You are not a bad person if you are learning, and the fact that you are learning also doesn’t give other people carte blanche to shame you into submission about your thoughts and feelings. Both of those things can be true at the same time.

*Colice’s example about social-justice-focused tourism and missionary work was so spot-on. We do this sort of travel and tourism in the yoga space, so let’s rethink our “good intentions” and consider giving people a meaning and purpose that extends beyond doing one thing for a short period and then going back to our regular lives. We can support people locally, be environmentally conscious at home, and support folks who are unhoused in our communities all the time–and yoga spaces can become hubs for those things to happen.

*Moral superiority seeps into a lot of our lives. How have *you* felt morally superior in ways that have been detrimental to your health and life? I have said 100 times this season that I love to be right, which is moral superiority’s younger cousin. It is worth a moment’s thought about what makes you feel superior—food? Movement? Spiritual calm? As good as any of those things can be, they can also take a turn into making us feel better than other people in a way that harms and doesn’t help.

RESOURCES

Working In Yoga Website

Working In Yoga Newsletter

Colice’s Website

White Supremacy Culture website

SPONSOR

Sunlight Streams Blog

Sunlight Apothecary